MOTOR VEHICLE
A steering gear of a motor vehicle is fastened to a chassis via several bearing points, each of which includes, but is not limited to bolt penetrating eyes of the chassis and the steering gear and an elastic sleeve. The elastic sleeve of at least a first of the bearing points is accommodated in the eye of the chassis.
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This application claims priority to German Patent Application No. 102010004540.3, filed Jan. 14, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe technical field relates to the connecting of a steering gear to a chassis of a motor vehicle.
BACKGROUNDSteering gears for motor vehicle are known in various types. A widespread type comprises a housing stretched along in vehicle transverse direction, in which a rack is in engagement with a pinion of the steering axle and is laterally displaceable corresponding to the rotations of the steering wheel in order to transmit the steering wheel rotation to the front wheels, which are pivotably fastened about a substantially vertical axis on a chassis. In order to be able to exert the steering force on the wheels the housing of the steering gear has to be fastened to the chassis; on the other hand the fastening should not be completely rigid so that vibrations of the chassis are not transmitted to the steering wheel and the body. Usually, two or more feet, which stand away from the steering gear in vehicle longitudinal direction and accommodate an elastic bearing sleeve through which a bolt anchored to the chassis in a fixed manner, extends, usually serve for the fastening of the steering gear. In most cases, only two such feet are present which extend from the steering gear in vehicle longitudinal direction to the back. Feet and bolts must be strong design in order to be able to withstand the loads that occur in operation.
The lever or tilting moments to which the anchorage of the steering gear is exposed and the resulting movements of the steering gear could be substantially reduced with the help of at least one additional foot reaching out from the steering gear in forward direction. Accommodating such a foot however poses substantial difficulties since the space above and in front of the steering gear is occupied by engine block, shift transmission, exhaust, driveshaft or other installations of the engine compartment.
In view of the foregoing, at least one object is to create a motor vehicle that makes possible space-saving, structurally favorable connection of the steering gear to the chassis. In addition, other objects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.
SUMMARYA motor vehicle is provided with a chassis and a steering gear being fastened to the chassis via several bearing points each of which comprises a bolt penetrating eyes of the chassis and the steering gear and an elastic sleeve, and the elastic sleeve of at least one first of the bearing points is accommodated in the eye of the chassis. Since, consequently, the diameter of an eye of the foot merely needs to be adequate for accommodating the bolt, but not the sleeve, the dimensions of the foot altogether can be reduced, which expands the possibilities of accommodating the feet.
In particular, it is more easily possible as a result to arrange the first bearing point in driving direction of the vehicle offset against a second and third of the bearing points, preferentially in such a manner that the first bearing point is arranged at a in driving direction of the vehicle front side and second and third bearing points are arranged on a rear side of the steering gear. The first bearing point can also be arranged on the rear side and conversely the second and third bearing point can also be arranged on the front side. This arrangement leads to a reduced lever moment load of each individual foot, which in turn creates the possibility of reducing the material thickness of the feet which in turn makes it easier to find a place of installation for the feet that is favorable under structural and dynamic aspects.
In order to avoid conflict with other installations of the engine compartment it is additionally advantageous if the first bearing point is arranged offset in the vertical against the second and third bearing point, preferentially below the second and third bearing point. Such vertical offset can also be useful in order to establish a secure spacing between the elastic sleeve of the first bearing point and hot components, such as the exhaust for instance. More preferably, the first bearing point can be formed on a foot of the steering gear offset in downward direction.
If at least one of the eyes of the steering gear has an internal thread into which the bolt is screwed, no space for a screw head, a nut or the like has to be kept available above the foot, which in turn reduces the space requirement of the steering gear fastening. The omission of an otherwise required nut and a corresponding reduction in length of the bolt additionally makes possible a minor weight saving and consequently results in the reduction of the number of parts, facilitates assembly and possibly also the costs.
In order to improve the load capacity of the fastening the elastic sleeve is preferentially reinforced in the interior by a stiff sleeve. This stiff sleeve can be clamped between a thickened portion of the bolt such as a head or, if present, a nut and the steering gear in order to prevent excessive deformation of the elastic sleeve through compression between the thickened portion and the steering gear and resultant damaging of the elastic sleeve.
The stiff sleeve is preferentially provided with a flange at an end facing away from the steering gear. This flange makes it more difficult for its parts to gradually fall out of the eye when the elastic sleeve becomes brittle due to age. If the flange protrudes over the edges of the eye this additionally establishes a positive connection between the steering gear and the chassis so that even complete destruction of the elastic sleeve cannot result in that the steering gear becomes detached from the chassis. Instead of the foot, the sleeve can also have an internal thread into which the bolt is screwed.
The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and:
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit application and uses. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background or the following detailed description.
A track rod moveable in longitudinal direction of the steering gear 2 or in transverse direction of the vehicle in a manner known per se coupling a rack of the steering gear to the front wheels and a steering spindle connected to the steering wheel and meshing with the rack have been omitted in
The detail view of
On the cross beam 3 a unitary projection 11 projecting into the opening of the auxiliary frame 1 is formed, which is substantially identical in area to the foot 7. The foot 7 is fastened to the projection 11 with the help of a screw 12 which extends from below through an eye of the projection 11 and engages in an eye of the tongue 9 provided with an internal thread 27 (see
The cross beam 3 is provided with two studs 20 standing away upwards, in which a threaded bore 28 for anchoring one of the screws 6 each is formed, which is indicated in the figure by an interrupted line. In contrast with screw 12, the screws 6 are thus fixed on the auxiliary frame 1 and a rigid metal sleeve 21 and an elastic sleeve 22 surrounding the metal sleeve 21 penetrate an eye 23 of the foot 5, which is indicated in interrupted line in
In order to simplify the mounting of the steering gear 2 it is practical if all screws 6 and 12 used for its fastening can be attached from a same side. A second configuration, where this is possible, is shown in
According to a third embodiment shown in
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing summary and detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration in any way. Rather, the foregoing summary and detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment, it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope as set forth in the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
Claims
1. A motor vehicle, comprising:
- a chassis including a plurality of eyes;
- a steering gear;
- a plurality of bearing points fastening the steering gear to the chassis:
- a bolt for each of the plurality of bearing points penetrating the plurality of eyes and the steering gear; and
- an elastic sleeve of a first bearing point of the plurality of bearing points that is penetrated by the bolt and s accommodated in at least one of the plurality of eyes of the chassis.
2. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the first bearing point in a driving direction of the motor vehicle is at least offset against a second bearing point and a third bearing point of the plurality of bearing points.
3. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the first bearing point is arranged in a driving direction of a front side of the motor vehicle and a second bearing point and a third bearing point of the plurality of bearing points on a back side of the steering gear.
4. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the first bearing point is offset against at least one of a second bearing point and a third bearing point of the plurality of bearing points.
5. The motor vehicle according claim 1, wherein the first bearing point is formed on a foot of the steering gear and offset in a downward direction.
6. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of eyes comprises an internal thread into which the bolt is screwed.
7. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the elastic sleeve is reinforced by a stiff sleeve.
8. The motor vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the stiff sleeve is clamped between a thickened portion of the bolt and the steering gear.
9. The motor vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the stiff sleeve at an end facing away from the steering gear carries a flange.
10. The motor vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the stiff sleeve has an internal thread into which the bolt is screwed.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 13, 2011
Publication Date: Jul 14, 2011
Patent Grant number: 8523206
Applicant: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC (Detroit, MI)
Inventors: Thomas DEGENSTEIN (Mainz), Lutz UHLENBRUCH (Herbstein)
Application Number: 13/006,175
International Classification: B62D 3/00 (20060101);